News from Athelhampton House & Gardens.

Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey has met with mixed opinions from staff at Athelhampton House & Gardens, with some thoroughly enjoying this new adaptation, while others arguing that it's historically inaccurate, and has been modernised too much. Still from Nolan's The Odyssey, 2026 The ancient Greek and Roman myths, especially the Homeric epics, have fascinated us since they were first created. Through the Renaissance, when Athelhampton was built and added to, there was a rene

At Athelhampton House & Gardens, we never sit still, even when it comes to events from 500 years ago. We're very much of the opinion that while history has already taken place, there are always more things to discover! And sometimes, we find out we were wrong. Elizabethan Bed in the Tudor Bedroom at Athelhampton A few months ago, we enhanced the Marriage Chamber - one of the Tudor bedrooms - at Athelhampton, rehanging an early seventeenth century Flemish tapestry there. Prior

Giving birth was one of the most dangerous things a woman could do in Medieval and Renaissance England: it was the leading cause of death for women, with as many as 1 in 40 women dying in childbirth. So what might a woman living in this Dorset Tudor Manor of Athelhampton do to try to stay safe at this time? Preparations for giving birth started early, with the lying-in period beginning up to six weeks before the prospective mother gave birth. The Marriage Chamber at Athelhamp

At Athelhampton, the Marriage Chamber has been quietly enhanced. One of more than twenty rooms open to the public, it now welcomes an early seventeenth century Flemish tapestry, newly rehung after many years on the minstrels’ gallery in the Great Hall. The tapestry itself seems to show a pastoral setting, with a scene of a man returning from the hunt. The Tudor bedroom brings together layers of history. Rich Tudor panelling, A fifteenth century Italian Savonarola chair, an

One of Dorset’s most beautiful Tudor manor houses, Athelhampton has stood in its peaceful valley for over five centuries. Its walls hold many secrets, from grand feasts in the Great Hall to family squabbles, all observed quietly by the servants who kept the household running. The names of the servants rarely survive: only those of a few trusted male servants show up in wills and court cases, but it's possible to piece together a little of what their lives might have looked li